Cool C Note exits one serious key

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Few races during the Oaklawn Park meet have been as productive as a Feb. 6 conditioned claiming sprint that Cool C Note exits for a starter allowance appearance here Wednesday. He is attempting to become its fifth next-out winner.

"That's wild," said Terry Gestes, who trains Cool C Note for Oaklawn's leading owner, William Stiritz.

Cool C Note finished fifth in the conditioned claimer that was won in rapid time by Saada, who two starts later won a first-level allowance at Oaklawn over the comebacking Unbridled Express. As for his performance in the Feb. 6 conditioned claimer, Saada covered the distance in 1:10.60.

Since the race, the four horses who have come back to win their next starts all scored at Oaklawn. Kinetic Motion, who was fourth on Feb. 6, came back to win a $15,000 conditioned claimer with a Beyer Speed Figure of 70, while the sixth-place finisher, Allensworth, took a $7,500 conditioned claimer with a Beyer Figure of 70.

The other next-out winners were seventh-place finisher El Medwar, who came back to capture a $30,000 conditioned claimer with a Beyer of 80, and eighth-place finisher Buddy's Bid, who came back to win another $30,000 conditioned claimer, with a Beyer of 79.

The question Wednesday is whether Cool C Note is up next. He faces a competitive group in the six-furlong starter, but is a nice fit for both the race he exits and the fact that he has lined up against steeper in the past, such as Giant Oak, a candidate for the Kentucky Derby, and Poltergeist, who was third last out in the Grade 2, $300,000 Rebel at Oaklawn.

"He seems like he prefers a distance on the grass, but they don't have that at Oaklawn," said Gestes. "He's doing good. He didn't run bad last time coming off a route race sprinting, and I think with him coming back sprinting again it makes him a little sharper."

Gestes is a private trainer for Stiritz, who has won 12 races at the meet to top the current standings by two wins over K.K. and Vilasini Jayaraman. The owner-trainer team had a big win over the weekend with Palanka City, who picked up her second stakes victory at the meet Saturday in the $50,000 Carousel.

Gestes said her next race is to be determined, but she is scheduled to ship next to Arlington Park. That track's Grade 3 Chicago Breeders' Cup Handicap on July 4 is a possible long-term goal for her.